Family gatherings are always a strange alchemy of being praised and belittled by people who, at least in my case, really don’t know me that well and probably aren’t prepared for me to be 100-percent honest with them about how I feel about, well, anything, because I’m still nine years old in their eyes.

Cole Hamels triples (Baseball-Reference). Here’s a fun list of pitchers who have hit triples in recent years. Jake Peavy makes an appearance. I remember his 2007 triple. Mainly, I remember him chugging into third base and then falling apart on the mound shortly thereafter.

First, I look at the body. While it’s true that size doesn’t always matter, it’s also true that size often matters, and the immediate physical attributes form the skeleton of any report. When scouting a younger player, you look for signs of physical projection. Can the frame hold weight/mass? How mature is the present body? How athletic is the body?

Mets Get Bad News on Young and Mejia (New York Times). Speaking of Padres castoffs now in New York, Chris Young “retore the anterior capsule in his right shoulder, which he originally injured a year ago, and could miss the rest of the season.” That this is not surprising makes it no less heartbreaking. Best of luck to CY in his recovery.